I don’t like to lose in anything. Anything.

Lance Armstrong Rides Again Vanity Fair (9 Sep 2008) - I read this article last year on the day it was published online. The following quote helped me start to understand a lot things about Lance Armstrong, Jenny and Cancer. It finally motivated me to read It's not about the Bike, all be it 9 months later (May/June 2009) which Jenny had read just after it was published ..

'.. it is only fun if we win.' And for me, I think a lot of that stems from just the illness and the diagnosis and the process there. Because failure there is death. Loss there is death. And victory is living. Which people just assume they’re going to do. I mean, most people—cancer survivors—don’t always assume that. But I was scared. You know, from that point on, I associated loss with death. And so I didn’t. It was burned in my mind forever.

"I don’t like to lose in anything. Anything."

We Are All Photographers? - Jorg Colberg (Mon 23 Jun 2014)

Take an Inspiring Picture - George Street / Sydney (Mon 21 Oct 2013)
Jorg Colberg (*) writes On Photography (*):

We’re all photographers now. Or are we? [..]

Let’s assume that we are not all photographers. If that is the case, here’s the crucial question: what is it that photographers do that those who occasionally or regularly photograph don’t do? [..]

What is it then that separates the photographers from all the rest of us? I think it’s aspirations. Ambition (*).

via Photography Today (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

On Vivian Maier - Naomi Cass / Andrew Stephens (Sat 04 Oct 2014)

Street Portrait - Valletta / Malta (Sun 21 Sep 2014)
Andrew Stephens (*) writes on Vivian Maier (*):

the almost magical appearance of Maier's work, as if it had been conjured, has not only inspired much further creativity and contemplation about the nature of photography, it has also shown how their own interests and approaches have crossed paths with Maier's.

Naomi Cass (*) expands Vivian Maier (*) Influence (*) on the Past (*), Present (*) and Identity (*):

We always need to think of a way of activating the past with respect to the present. We couldn't assume Maier to have had an influence on contemporary practice, however all the artists in this exhibition are acutely aware of not just her work but the complexity of her identity.

via Maier's portraits are an unexpected gift (*) by Andrew Stephens (*).

A great article and probably the most interesting I have read on Vivian Maier (*). Her work has become well known and her influence is expanding into interesting and diverse areas of the art world.

On Photography - Feeling and Responsibility - Streetshooter (Mon 22 Jun 2015)

Red - Chippendale (Tue 23 Jun 2015)

Streetshooter on Photography, Feeling and Responsibilty:

if you feel a photo in your heart and you see it in your heart and mind, you need to see it with the camera. [..]

I like to assume responsibility for my work [..] there’s a real satisfaction to SEE something and then MAKE a photo and have it satisfy you and maybe others too. You can think how you saw the photo coming together and recall everything about it that you didn’t take the time to forget.

I think I understand but not fully.

via Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 7 … Fuji X100s by Streetshooter.

I've walked to work since we moved office in Feb last year. I love it. It takes about 30 minutes and it has become an invaluable time for me to just walk and be engaged in the moment of just doing that. It gives me a chance to just think about things and I solve many problems and reflect on life a little. I have found a nice way and a few options and a couple are my favourites because how they make me feel. Often I see something that I have not noticed though I have walked past it many times. This photo is one of those things. It is just a few scratches on a peice of metal that has been painted red. I felt it, saw it, made it and I am responsible for giving it a life beyond itself. I love what photography does and these words make some sense of it all. Thanks Streetshooter.

Learning ..

Hidden in one of Drew Ginn's recent Blog Posts is this little piece on pushing yourself, motivation, challenges and learning - something I have done a lot of over the last 8-9 months. Thought I would pull it out here so that I can remember this great little piece of writing. Here it is:

[..] I learned to ride my rhythm, to find my own groove and to sit on the knife edge with fatigue, discomfort and sweat surrounding, penetrating and leaving me. At no stage was it intense like a rowing race or a super burst of effort. It was an experience in sustaining a level of force which body and mind was saying, 'BACK OFF'.

Like some sinister and shadowy creator holding an emotional gun to my head. Tempting as it might have been I had committed to the 7 days and on the last to having a great ride with heaps of challenge.

You could say I learned what I have learned before and now I have been reminded of it again.

Stretching and challenging is healthy. It requires us to keep pushing and to keep seeking motivation for why we would continue on. Why I asked my self on more than one occasion during the 7 days. Even as I spent the day at back home yesterday I was still asking why.

Placing your self in a challenging situation forces the questions to be asked.

I did this by going to Tassie to train with a good friend.

To train in a way which would force the questions to come thick and fast and they did and with each and every moment which one appeared I toiled and churned it around to cultivate and see what I would learn about self, others and the World I am in.

Again I say why? To learn is the only answer which I could find. To Learn, but why? It gives life.

Maybe. It brings clarity. Not always. It energises, YES, but it can also be draining.

Why then would I do any of this? Why would you? To be challenged is something which for sometime now I have said is a reason for my motivation. Maybe challenge is not enough.

Challenge without the acknowledgment of the learning required and needed is only one side of the coin. What happens if every time we toss it and it only ever landed on the challenge side.

We might assume that is all there is. Every stage, moment, event, session, day, hour and minute if challenged we might eventually find little else but a sense of seeking something which never ends.

Flipping the coin, the moment, experience and our perception can bring light to the other side or even sides. Maybe less a coin and more a cube it is with multiple sides and perspectives. A cube like RUBIX which starts out perfect with all colours separated on each side.

Then with everyday the play, the games, and events acting to jumble the cube until we finally realise it is rearranged.

How we feel about that becomes essential and what we do with it becomes simple a challenge. From this rearranged state we might begin to work to find the form or the essence of this box or cube. Learning to work with it in what ever state jumble or un-jumbled becomes important I think. Living with and learning from it. The challenge of it, the frustration and the joy.

So there it is I have gone away for 7 days of challenge which was more about learning than anything else.

Orange Bike - Toulouse - Fri 25 Sep 2009

Getting to the Core of It - Julie Snyder / Monica Alford (Mon 01 May 2017)

Eiffel - Docklands / Melbourne (Wed 03 May 2017)

Julie Snyder on Getting to the Core of It :

[what] has been very helpful to always keep in mind when approaching any story is that for the most part, people always have a reason for doing what they’re doing, even if it’s one that they can’t necessarily articulate – sometimes it’s even subconscious.

There are reasons to not jump to conclusions and not assume intentions, but instead to really pursue what those reasons are and what the mindset is behind them. I think that has really yielded for us sometimes the most interesting and emotional and meaningful stories. I think it makes the story better.

via Binge-Worthy Podcasts: "Serial" and "S-Town's" Julie Snyder by Monica Alford.